The obvious place to start was with Ben Miner, a comedy programmer, comedian, and host of Comic Stripped on Sirius XM Canada.

On the day we’ve agreed to meet, Miner waltzes into the bar with a big grin on his face. He’s a short, stocky man with thinning hair and a heavy five o’clock shadow.

As Miner settles in to his seat, I order us a few drinks and ask him to tell me how he got his start in comedy.

Ben Miner: I started off working as an assistant director for The Tom Green Show on the Comedy Network when I was 18. It was amazing to be in high school working with him.

Ben Miner and Tom Green are pictured. Credit: Facebook

Mike MacDonald: I can’t imagine he was easy to work with.

BM: Actually, he was a super nice guy. He wouldn’t f*ck with me at all. All things considered, I got off pretty light.

MM: Then you transitioned into stand up?

BM: December 9th, 1998. I wore extra baggy jeans to cover up the fact that my knees were knocking up against each other so hard.

MM: Obviously you must have done well, given the trajectory of your career since. I’m particularly interested in what you guys are doing at Sirius XM. To start, how the heck do you monetize comedy on the radio?

BM: I don’t know. I don’t deal much with the business side. But I can say that we’re making money at Sirius. There’s definitely a huge appetite for comedy in Canada.

MM: Why do you think that is?

BM: We’re a very smart country. I mean, we’ve got a great school system. And think about it, the people who settled this land had to have a good sense of humour to cope with this weather.

It’s not uncommon to pull in six figures working as a stand up in Canada.

MM: No kidding. I guess I’m a bit surprised to hear that radio comedy can be a lucrative venture. I’d always been under the assumption that if you do comedy in Canada, you’ll be destined to a life of relative poverty.

BM: Not at all. It’s not uncommon to pull in six figures working as a stand up in Canada.

MM: Come on. To make that kind of money, surely you’d have to go down south?

BM: I mean, you might have to preform at corporate events. Look at Calgary, there’s a ton of corporate comedy events to be had there. And in other cities, comedy always draws in people. Winnipeg has Rumor’s comedy club. That place pulls in the best talent in North America. And what else are you going to do in Winnipeg?

MM: I don’t know what people are doing there to begin with.

BM: Look at guys like Ron James. He recently sold out eight theatre gigs in Red Deer.

MM: So I guess it’s not too hard to find good comedic talent for the radio?

BM: The talent pool is extremely deep in Canada. Just in Toronto, there’s a ton of excellent talent. And everyone at the station is pretty plugged in. Although my boss, Joe Thistle, has a sports background, he has an uncanny ability to spot talent. He’s always quoting the acts of young comedians at work.

MM: They must like that.

BM: Yeah, it makes them feel special.

MM: Tell me about your show, Comic Stripped.

BM: Basically, I interview comedians for an hour.

MM: Like Marc Maron’s WTF podcast?

BM: Yeah. I mean, I have nowhere near the same amount of life experiences, but it’s a similar concept.

MM: How long have you been doing that?

BM: About six years or so.

MM: Have you seen any traction?

BM: Of course. We’re past the age where we only have to sell our [Canadian] comedy to Canadians. We’re able to get audiences from everywhere across the world.

MM: So the future for comedy on the radio in Canada is looking bright then?

Mike MacDonald is a news editor and writer at Postmedia. His writing also appears weekly in The Onion. When not working, Michael can be found playing crunchy grooves on his ukulele in his Toronto home... read more.View author's profile